The Neighbourhood Development Plan

Referendum on the Luston Group Neighbourhood Development Plan

The referendum for voters within the Luston Group neighbourhood area was held on Thursday 23 November 2017. The result is 139 votes cast for Yes, which is 87.9 percent of votes cast. The total number of votes recorded represented 22.2 percent of registered electors. The Declaration of Result of Poll is available to download – Luston_Group_Referendum_Results.

From today the NDP will have full material weight and Herefordshire Council is now in the process of formally adopting the Luston Group NDP as part of the statutory development plan. It is anticipated that this process will take around a month to complete.

The Luston Group Neighbourhood Development Plan documents are available to view on the website of Herefordshire Council – Luston Group Neighbourhood Development Plan. The documents are also available to download below:

Examination of the Luston Group Neighbourhood Development Plan

The Examiner’s Report on the Luston Group Neighbourhood Development Plan was published on 3 August 2017, and is available to download – Examiner’s Report. The Examination Decision document was published by Herefordshire Council on 7 September 2017, and is available to download – Delegated decision statement.

The Luston Group Neighbourhood Development Plan

The meeting will be finalising the updated Neighbourhood Development Plan, Policy Maps, Consultation Statement and Basic Conditions Statement, in preparation for the next stage of the neighbourhood plan process, which is Regulation 16 consultation.

Following the steering group meeting the parish council will meet to consider the Regulation 16 document.

You are welcome to join the meeting, which is held in public like parish council meetings.

How to have your say on Thursday 7 July 2016

The Regulation 14 public consultation has led to a request for clarification as to how the 24 houses needed in Luston could be accommodated in areas within or adjacent to the village settlement boundary (as our draft plan suggests).

After extensive researches and visits to potential sites, the Luston Group Parish Council Neighbourhood Development Plan steering group has identified possible areas where development could be allowed to take place, (click here for a map and summary), and there will be a public “drop in” consultation session to view these at THE BALANCE INN on THURSDAY 7th JULY 2016 between 3pm and 8pm, where you will be able to discuss and comment on them with members of the Parish Council and NDP Steering Group. All residents in the Group Parish, and especially those who live in Luston, are invited to attend.

Site Assessments

Regulation 14 Public Consultation launched at Cawley Hall in March 2016

The six week public consultation on the draft Neighbourhood Development Plan, otherwise known as Regulation 14, kicked off with a successful event at Cawley Hall on the 6th of March. It was well attended by over 70 local people who were able to look at the draft plan and to ask questions of various members of the Parish Council and Steering Group committee members.

The Luston Group’s draft Neighbourhood Plan has been developed to help deliver the local community’s requirements and aspirations for the plan period up to 2031. It has been created through listening to the views of local people, and is intended to provide a means of guiding, promoting and enabling balanced and sustainable change and growth within the designated area of the Luston Group of Parishes.

Comments were invited on the Draft Plan for the Regulation 14 public consultation period which ended on 18 April 2016. All responses received are in the process of being considered by the Steering Group and subsequently the Parish Council to inform a revised version of the Plan. The revised version of the Plan will then be submitted to Herefordshire Council, as the local planning authority, for examination by an independent examiner.

Neighbourhood Development Plan News

Following the Regulation 14 consultation period, Herefordshire Council have asked for clarification as to how the 24 houses needed in Luston could be accommodated in areas within or adjacent to the village settlement boundary (as our draft plan suggests). After extensive researches and visits to potential sites, the Luston Group Parish Council Neighbourhood Development Plan Steering Group has identified possible areas where development could be allowed to take place. The identification of these sites and their addition to the Plan means a slight modification to that presented in the Regulation 14 period; therefore needing further public comment before inclusion in the draft Neighbourhood Development Plan.

There will be a public “drop in” consultation session to view these at THE BALANCE INN on THURSDAY 7th JULY 2016 between 3pm and 8pm, where you will be able to discuss and comment on them with members of the Parish Council and Neighbourhood Development Plan Steering Group. All residents in the Group Parish, and especially those who live in Luston, are invited to attend.

Light snacks will also be available.

We are nearly “there” – two more hurdles to jump and the Neighbourhood Development Plan starts getting “clout” with the planners: then after an examination period and finally being approved in a Group Parish referendum it will be adopted and enshrined in law. This will all hopefully happen by the end of this year.

Request a copy by email

Borrow a paper copy

Paper copies of the plan were available to borrow during the Regulation 14 consultation period which ended on 18 April 2016.

Additional background information for the Neighbourhood Development Plan

The Draft Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) for Luston Group Parish was published for 6 weeks formal public consultation, and comments are invited until 5pm on 18 April 2016.

The draft plan sets out the Vision, Objectives and Policies for the growth of the Parishes of Luston Group up to 2031. The NDP sets down a series of planning policies which, once adopted by means of a Parish referendum, will form part of the Local Plan for Herefordshire. The policies of the NDP, alongside the Core Strategy and National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will be used by planning officers to guide decisions on all planning applications within the Parishes.

This draft NDP has been drawn up by a Steering Group made up of Parish Councillors and local residents working under the auspices of Luston Group Parish Council. The draft plan has a Vision and Objectives for the Parish which seek to:

• Protect and preserve the size, form and character of the village and hamlets; • Ensure that all future development is sustainable and does not increase risk of flooding; • Protect open and green spaces, the local landscape and the setting of the village and hamlets; • Ensure new housing is of a size, type and tenure to accommodate local need; • Reduce traffic problems and improve highway and pedestrian safety; • Support home working and small businesses; and • Protect and enhance community facilities.

The Policies, which are a result of extensive community consultation, will provide planning guidance, once adopted, as part of the Local Plan for Herefordshire. The policies look at:

• Development which enhances the positive attributes and features of the parishes and is designed to be in keeping with the distinctive and special character of the area; • Protection of local landscape character and views, and local green spaces; • Flood risk, water management and surface water run-off; • Scale and type of new housing which protects the rural character of the village and hamlets; • Traffic management and transport improvements and sustainable transport measures; and • Support for existing small scale local employment and home working.

What happens next?

Following this formal period of public consultation, the Plan will be amended and submitted to Herefordshire Council, which will check it for compliance with all relevant documents and legislation, and publish it for further consultation.

The NDP will then be examined by an Independent Examiner and following any further revisions will be subject to a Referendum by the local community. The Draft Plan and supporting documents may be viewed here on line or be e-mailed to residents on request to clerk.lustongroup@gmail.com

Activities prior to the Regulation 14 public consultation

The steering group presented every household in the parishes with a questionnaire about future developments in the village.

The results of the questionnaire, which will greatly influence the Neighbourhood Plan, were presented to public meetings held in January 2015.